Thanks to the advice of the fellows on this site...I have a LV 6PPC rifle on order and I am in the process of getting the reloading tools bought.
I plan to buy the brass prepped by Hoehn. Couldn't find Federal Primers so I bought Remington 7 1/2s, Bart's Ultra 68 bullets, and LT 32 powder.
I am considering buying Redding series S dies with a neck sizer w/ three bushings, body die, and bullet seating die with an integrated micrometer. Are these the dies I need for reloading at home ? Don't want to load at the range for now. As an alternative would I be better off to send some of my once fired brass to Harrell to have a custom FL sizing die made....If I go that route who would you suggest to make the seating die ?
Also looking at the Forster case trimmer, Harrell 60 gr powder measure.....haven't picked a press yet.
I would appreciate feedback as to these products and recommendations on other tools I might need.
OK..... I'm going to address ONLY YOUR POST. This does not relate in any way to other replies.
I plan to buy the brass prepped by Hoehn. Couldn't find Federal Primers so I bought Remington 7 1/2s, Bart's Ultra 68 bullets, and LT 32 powder.
Good choices all.
I am considering buying Redding series S dies with a neck sizer w/ three bushings, body die, and bullet seating die with an integrated micrometer. Are these the dies I need for reloading at home ? Don't want to load at the range for now.
To be perfectly clear, WHO makes your dies is completely irrelevant, it's THE MATCH OF DIE TO CHAMBER that you're after. Typically a Type 'S' Redding die is designed for full-length resizing........If your rifle was chambered with a reamer which matches the Redding dies (possible, since David Kiff probably built both reamers, but still unlikely) then you're OK but this IS NOT a gamble I would take. Now, you mention a "body die." WHY? If the "Type 'S'" die is, in fact, a full length resizer then why a body die? The body die concept originated with guys who use "bump dies" or dies made with their chambering reamers or dies which are set up to "neck size only" and the body die is a (wretched) way to occasionally resize when the brass gets tight.
Here's what I would do (have done, many times) instead. I would order a set of Wilson hand dies with the three bushings and a Sinclair Arbor press. Now you can load and shoot, anywhere. At home. At the range. In an aeroplane or a hot-air-balloon....... ANYwhere. (In Other Words, don't get hung up on "load at home"
cuz you can still load at home with portable equipment....) So you can load and shoot. A LOT.
KEEP YOUR BOLT LUGS GREASED!!!
here's what's gonna' happen..... you'll load and fire and gener'ly have a big time, A LOT. And over time some or all of your cases will get TIGHT. In any event, they'll all get progressively tighter as you load and fire them. (a LOT)
so
KEEP YOUR LUGS GREASED!!! Like every 25 rounds, grease those luggies eh!
As an alternative would I be better off to send some of my once fired brass to Harrell to have a custom FL sizing die made....If I go that route who would you suggest to make the seating die ?
Now, while this is all going on (a LOT) you can take 3 or 6 of those fired cases and send them off to The Bros Harrell.... I put three cases in a ziplok marked "perfect feel" and three more cases in another ziplok marked "tight in chamber" and send them off. Now they've got two sets of three cases to measure from. One set is egg'ZACKly what you want and the other set of three is TIGHT. In due course you will receive back a fitted die which will most'en likely work perfectly but if it DOESN'T then you send it back with another nice liddle note and they'll fix it. For FREE. (I dunno why they do it for free but they do)
Shucks, the liddle shoulder setback measuring gizzie is worth the 75 clams....just so you learn how necessary it is.....
And I would probably just keep on using the Wilson Seater. But if you want a press type die or a custom seating die you can pick and choose because you'll have the Wilson to get you by. In other words, you're not setting around waiting for stuff, you're SHOOTING.
A LOT
And this is GOOD.
And you haven't spent a bunch of money on stuff you'll never use again.
BTW I will suggest the NON-micrometer top on the seater. A micrometer is just a screw with marks on it, it's no more "accurate" than the plain one. the stem advances 40 thou per turn. 20 thou the half-turn, 10 thou the quarter turn (lemme' guess, you're starting to see a pattern, right??) Buy the cheaper Wilson seater and save your money for something else. Maybe a micrometer-topped threaded press-type seating die
The rest of the stuff is just details. No press will make straighter ammo than another. And trimmers and throwers and such are all matters of choice, they all perty much work.
"No press will make straighter ammo"
Try THAT statement on one of the other shooting forums eh!! See how that flies for ya'
Take it from a guy who actually
owns 18 presses and who CAN make ammo with no runout. It ain't about the press.....
LOL
hth
al
